Five of us from Backroad Quilters worked on a new banner for our chapter over the summer. Carolee came up with the idea and I was enthusiastic right from the start. I read about "slice" quilts quite a few years ago and always wanted to try it. Just Google "slice quilts" and you will find other images that will amaze you. 

Karen and her husband Joe came up with an image that was Photoshopped to create a typical house and barn in our rural area. The house, barn, mailbox, and other details were all from different locations. From that picture we had a full size poster made and cut that into five vertical strips. We each took a strip home and recreated the image in fabric over the summer. We did not confer with one another as to what we were doing, what fabrics we were choosing or methods we were using (well Karen and I talked a little bit since our pieces were side by side, but you wouldn't really know that we did!). The idea is to have the strips fit together to make the whole image but each strip is individual. I really like the differences in these quilts! The differences really make the piece so interesting. 

Here Carolee is placing a vinyl overlay over her poster slice and fabric slice to show how she put it all together. I did the same thing with mine. You place the vinyl over the photo and trace the outlines with a marker, that makes it easier to line up all the elements and get the right shapes. 

Carolee painted her flowers. We all had the same road fabric and the same sky fabric. That brings some cohesion to the final quilt. Carolee and Lori had two halves of the barn and they both chose the same fabric!

I had the far left slice. I used a batik for the mail box that came out quite well, don't you think?  I made the house twice, the first one just didn't work out. I pleated the fabric to make the clapboards and it looked really good, but the peak at the roofline just came apart. It's funny that Karen did the same thing and hers looks great. The rock wall behind the mail box was a challenge for all of us. Interesting to see how others handled that. I did not paint any of my slice, but others chose that method quite successfully. I used fusible web for my appliques. The yellow daylilies are waiting to be sprinkled among the leaves around the post. 

Lori sewed the slices together. Doesn't she look happy? We all met at the snowmobile clubhouse and worked together one weekend to put it all together. 

Voila!

We got it done in time for the Backroad Quilt show which was held last weekend. I think it looks awesome, how about you? 

See the little piece above the barn door? That is our old banner-printed from a photo on fabric.